HOFC Sermon Archive: Gospel of Mark Part 57: The Problem with Wealth

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SERMON TIMELINE

10. Jesus Cleanses the Leper

11. Jesus Heals the Paralytic

12. Jesus and the Tax Collector

13. Jesus Questioned About Fasting

14. Of Wine and Wineskins

15. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath & Resurrection Sunday 2025

16. Hard Hearts and Hard Thoughts

17. Three Responses to Jesus

18. Jesus Appoints the Apostles

19. The Family of Jesus

20. The Unforgivable Sin

21. The True Family of Jesus

22. Parable of the Four Soils

23. How Well Do You Listen

24. Parable of the Growing Seed

25. Parable of the Mustard Seed

26. Benefits of Private Teaching

27. Jesus Calms the Storm

28. Who is Afraid of Jesus?

29. The Touch of Jesus

30. When Familiarity Breeds Contempt

31. Principles of Evangelism

32. Weakness in the Seat of Power

33. The Need for Rest

34. Feeding 5000

35. Jesus Walks on Water

36. Healings at Gennesaret

37. The Danger of Traditions

38. The Source of True Defilement

39. Gentile Blessed for Her Faith

40. He Has Done All Things Well

41. Jesus Feeds 4000

42. Jesus Sighs

43. Beware of Leaven

44. The Blind Man at Bethsaida

45. Who Do You Say That Jesus Is?

46. Mindful of the Things of God

47. The Cost of Discipleship

48. The Value of a Soul

49. Ashamed of Jesus and His Word

50. The Transfiguration

51. The Disciples ask Questions

52. The Unclean Spirit

53. The Way to Greatness

54. Principles of Discipleship

55. God Hates Divorce

56. Jesus Blesses Children

57. The Problem with Wealth

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

Mark 10:17-27

“And as He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and began asking Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

¹⁹You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”

²⁰And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.”

²¹And looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

²²But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.

²³And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus *answered again and *said to them,

“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶And they were even more astonished, saying to Him, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

INTRODUCTION

Last week, Jesus explained that if we are to enter the Kingdom of God, we must be like children. He had rebuked the disciples for their pride and arguments over who was greater among them, and explained that humility, not pride, not arrogance, not selfish ambition or self-centeredness, is one of the greatest qualities among the children of God.

“For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares Yahweh.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”

Isaiah 66:3

“‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” James 4:6

Today, we see a rich man with a few problems. A rich man who was so “righteous,” but so wrong. He came to the right person, Jesus, who could tell him the way to eternal life.

He asked the right question, “…what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus responded with the commandments, because the rich man was still under the Old Testament covenant, to which the rich man responds, “I have kept all these things from my youth up.”

So Jesus responds with what it would take to follow Him, sacrificing what was more precious to him than the Lord…his riches. Only when we put the Lord before everything else in our lives are we fit to follow Jesus.

The rich man's response to, “…go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”?

“he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.”

The Greek states, “ὁ δὲ στυγνάσας ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ ἀπῆλθεν λυπούμενος”

LIT Translation: “But he, having become gloomy at the word, went away grieving.”

Having become gloomy comes from a Greek verb meaning “to be shocked into sadness,” or “to have one's face fall or darken.”

It was a visible emotional change at the words of Jesus telling him to sell his belongings to follow Him.

Likewise, going away grieving literally means “he experienced deep sorrow,” or “to feel emotional pain,” at the words of Jesus.

So, you could say, when Jesus said, “…go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

The rich man became visibly downcast, and he walked away carrying deep sorrow.

The Lord offers treasures in heaven, everlasting, incorruptible, never-ending, yet the man walks away grieving, not because of all the earthly treasures he possessed, but because his earthly treasures possessed him.

The rich man’s face darkens, his steps turn away, and grief follows him down the road where he will return to the earthly treasures which hold him hostage from the everlasting riches of heaven.

It is difficult for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God.

Regardless of the misinterpretation of this verse by the Word of Faith false teachers of prosperity to justify their lust for naive believers' money.

Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Smiling Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Paula White, Jesse Duplantis, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Hagin…etc.

1 Timothy 6:5-6 “and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that religion is a means of gain. ⁶But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.”

Luke 12:15 “Then He said to them, “Watch out and be on your guard against every form of greed, for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

All these false teachers out here are fighting for the bigger pile of ashes when Judgment Day comes. How sorrowful their hearts will be when all they spent their life accumulating for themselves is destroyed in judgment, and they have nothing left when they stand before the Lord to receive their verdict.

When Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus is speaking of a camel, and a sewing needle, end of story.

What is it about wealth that makes salvation so difficult? We spoke on this at length during our sermon series in Ecclesiastes.

Are you aware of the dangers of riches? Do you have the proper attitude toward wealth, whether rich or poor?

Let us consider…

I. THE PROBLEM WITH RICHES

a. The absorbing interest of riches

i. Riches do not satisfy

ii. You are a fool if you think more money will bring satisfaction

iii. One of the richest men in history explained it to us in Ecclesiastes 1:8; Ecclesiastes 5:10

iv. With riches comes the preoccupation with them

1. How to use them

2. How to maintain them

3. How to store them

4. How to obtain more of them

Like a black hole, the accumulation of riches can absorb our time and energy. Time and energy we have so little of, that we will no longer be able to use for anything else…such as family, church, or the Lord Himself.

b. The deceitful promise of riches

Jesus warns us of the deceitfulness of riches when talking about the seed (the Word of God) being spread and how some receive it, then lose it in Mark 4:19 “but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for anything else enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

i. Riches promise much, but in reality, offer very little in return

1. They can easily disappear, rust away, or be stolen (Proverb 23:5; Matthew 6:19)

2. They most definitely cannot buy one’s salvation (Psalm 49:6-9; Psalm 49:16-20)

3. And they will never protect you from God’s coming wrath (Zephaniah 1:18)

Riches deceive one into thinking they are in need of nothing. The parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21 illustrates the foolishness of this.

c. The foolish pride of riches

i. Wealth can promote a sense of arrogance and pride (Deuteronomy 8:11-17)

ii. This arrogance and pride from riches was the downfall of Sodom and Israel (Ezekiel 16:49-50; Hosea 13:4-6)

iii. Blinded by such pride, one does not seek God (Psalm 10:4)

They believe they either are in need of nothing or are right with God because they have riches, as if being rich is a sign that you are right with God.

If so, Elon Musk (agnostic billionaire), Azim Premji (Muslim billionaire), Mukesh Ambani (Hindu billionaire), and Alan Sugar (atheist billionaire) must be really close to God?

Not only do scriptures teach that having riches does not prove you are right with God, but they also teach that being poor does not prove you are being punished by God.

Earthly riches are meaningless to the creator, and if having keeps you from God, or not having brings you closer, isn’t the reward of everlasting treasures in heaven greater than the earthly promise of what will eventually be a pile of ash come Judgment Day?

Would you rather have now…and pay eternally later?

Unfortunately, some say, “yes.”

d. The hardening selfishness of riches

i. The wealthy, while in a position to help others, often close their hearts to the cry of the poor.

ii. This was Israels sin in Amos 2:6; Amos 5:11-12; Amos 8:4-6

Abusing the poor to make money, failing to respond to their cries for justice, being more interested in money than others' welfare and well-being, such are the problems that afflict the rich.

I have heard ridiculous sayings over the years, like, “If I won a million dollars, I would give 10%, or 30%, or even half to the church!”

But the ones saying this didn’t do that with what they had already…don’t try and tempt God with blessings to the church in hopes of persuading Him to let you win the lottery. He already knows what you would do with your money, because you are already doing it.

Certainly, not all who are rich are guilty of these things. Some of the most godly people in the bible were rich, including Job, Abraham, Joseph, David, Solomon, Lydia, etc.

But unless you are willing to serve the true God, crucify your flesh and its desires, and keep money and things of this world in the proper perspective so they never own you, you are not capable of carrying the lofty weight of riches without losing your passage to the Kingdom of God.

II. LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PROBLEMS OF RICHES

a. The folly of covetousness

i. Why be so anxious to be rich when they may prove to be a curse?

ii. Covetousness itself is viewed by God as a form of idolatry (Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5)

iii. It is not a sin to have riches, but to desire and chase riches is wrong.

1. Those who desire to be rich will fall into temptation, and it will not go unpunished (1 Timothy 6:9; Proverbs 28:20)

2. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10)

a. For which some have strayed from the truth

b. And suffering many sorrows

Beware of covetousness! Luke 12:15

b. The duty of contentment

i. Contentment along with godliness is true wealth! 1 Timothy 6:6-7

1. Even Socrates said, “He is richest who is content with the least.”

ii. Contentment is a virtue that is learned (Philippians 4:11-12)

1. By having the proper perspective on life (1 Timothy 6:7)

a. You can’t take it with you!

b. On Judgment Day, all earthly things, including wealth, will become ashes

2. Understand what is truly essential in life (1 Timothy 6:8)

a. Food, clothing, and clean water

b. We must realize, recognize, and acknowledge how blessed we truly are!

c. Hebrews 13:5 “Make sure that your way of life is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

CONCLUSION

The issue of wealth is often one of contention.

The poor are envious of the rich; the rich often despise the poor.

But we have learned from Ecclesiastes that both wealth and poverty have their difficulties. Wealth can make one arrogant, less receptive to the gospel and the kingdom. Poverty can make one bitter, filled with envy of others.

Whether rich or poor, we should all remain aware of our need for salvation that comes by the grace of God, and that we can share the riches of salvation so that we can become heirs to the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8)

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Monday, March 23, 2026

Gospel of Mark Part 57: The Problem with Wealth

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